Private Equity Market - Global Industry Size, Share, Trends, Opportunity, and Forecast, 2021-2031

The Global Private Equity Market is projected to experience substantial growth, expanding from USD 681.12 Billion in 2025 to USD 1.49 trillion by 2031 at a CAGR of 14.05%. As an alternative investment class, private equity involves pooling capital to acquire equity stakes in companies that are not publicly traded, with the market supported by the potential for superior returns through active management and operational restructuring to unlock value. Additionally, the accumulation of significant uninvested capital, or dry powder, combined with a growing preference for companies to remain private for strategic flexibility, underpins the market's sustained expansion.

However, the industry faces significant headwinds from persistent high interest rates, which elevate the cost of leverage and create valuation gaps between buyers and sellers, ultimately slowing deal velocity. This environment compels fund managers to focus on tangible performance improvements rather than financial engineering to achieve desired returns. Despite these challenges, the sector remains resilient; the American Investment Council reported that in 2024, private equity firms invested in over 7,000 U.S. businesses, demonstrating a continued capacity to deploy capital into the real economy amidst complex macroeconomic conditions.

Market Drivers

The structural expansion of the secondary market has become a key driver for the Global Private Equity Market, providing essential liquidity solutions and exit routes while IPO activity remains stagnant. This mechanism enables limited partners to monetize stakes and general partners to retain high-performing assets through continuation vehicles, thereby sustaining capital momentum. According to Jefferies' 'Global Secondary Market Review' from January 2025, global secondary transaction volume reached a record $162 billion in 2024, fueled by narrowing bid-ask spreads and strong demand for diversified portfolios as investors rebalanced their holdings.

Simultaneously, the deployment of record levels of dry powder into strategic acquisitions is revitalizing deal flow as firms face pressure to return capital to investors. Managers are utilizing these vast reserves to execute take-private transactions and corporate carve-outs, taking advantage of valuation adjustments in specific sectors. BlackRock noted in 2024 that private equity firms held approximately $2.5 trillion in dry powder globally, providing substantial resources for dealmaking. This trend is evidenced by data from Reuters in October 2024, which showed a 42% year-over-year increase in global private equity-led buyouts in the third quarter, signaling a decisive shift toward capital deployment despite economic uncertainties.

Market Challenges

Prolonged high interest rates present a major constraint for the Global Private Equity Market by fundamentally altering the economics of deal-making. Since the industry relies heavily on leverage to enhance returns, elevated borrowing costs reduce the potential profitability of acquisitions, forcing buyers to adjust pricing models downward. This creates a significant valuation gap with sellers who continue to expect premiums associated with a low-rate environment, resulting in stalled negotiations and a noticeable deceleration in deal velocity as firms struggle to align on price.

This environment also restricts liquidity, as challenges in securing affordable debt financing make it difficult for fund managers to exit portfolio companies at attractive valuations. The resulting slowdown in distributions to limited partners limits the recycling of capital into new funds. According to Invest Europe, buyout investment activity in the first half of 2024 declined by 38% compared to the same period in the previous year, with total values falling to €23 billion, underscoring how financing pressures have directly curtailed the industry's ability to deploy capital.

Market Trends

The democratization of access for retail and wealth management investors marks a structural shift as private equity firms actively seek to diversify their capital base beyond institutional partners. Facing allocation limits from traditional sources, managers are launching semi-liquid "evergreen" funds and technology platforms to tap into the under-allocated global private wealth market. This strategy secures a continuous source of permanent capital, reducing reliance on cyclical institutional fundraising. Private Debt Investor reported in February 2025 that Apollo Global Management raised a record $12 billion from wealthy individuals in 2024, a 50% increase from the prior year, highlighting the rapid adoption of alternative assets by individual investors.

Concurrently, the industry is expanding into private credit and direct lending strategies, evolving traditional buyout firms into diversified alternative asset managers. As regulatory pressures cause traditional banks to retreat from corporate lending, private equity sponsors are filling the void with flexible debt capital for leveraged buyouts, infrastructure projects, and corporate growth. This pivot allows firms to generate stable, fee-related earnings less correlated with equity market volatility. According to Private Equity Wire in December 2025, private credit deployment reached a record $592.8 billion in 2024, a 78% increase over the previous year, driven largely by the sector's largest platforms.

Key Players Profiled in the Private Equity Market

• Apollo Global Management, Inc.
• Bain and Co. Inc.
• Bank of America Corp.
• BDO Australia
• Blackstone Inc.
• CVC Capital Partners
• Ernst and Young Global Ltd.
• HSBC Holdings PLC
• The Carlyle Group
• Warburg Pincus LLC

Report Scope

In this report, the Global Private Equity Market has been segmented into the following categories:

Private Equity Market, by Fund Type:

• Buyout
• Venture Capital (VCs)
• Real Estate
• Infrastructure
• Others

Private Equity Market, by Sector:

• Technology
• Healthcare
• Financial Services
• Energy & Power
• Others

Private Equity Market, by Region:

• North America
• Europe
• Asia-Pacific
• South America
• Middle East & Africa

Competitive Landscape

Company Profiles: Detailed analysis of the major companies present in the Global Private Equity Market.

Available Customization

The analyst offers customization according to your specific needs. The following customization options are available for the report:

• Detailed analysis and profiling of additional market players (up to five).

This product will be delivered within 1-3 business days.